Travis Eneix

Got back to the house a couple of hours ago from a long, wonderful day at Green Gulch. The Sunday program is as follows-

1. An Introduction to Zen Meditation at 8:15am
2. A 45 minute meditation period at 9:15am
3. Lecture at 10:15am
4. Tea at 11:15am
5. Question and Answer with the Lecturer at 11:45am
6. Lunch! at 12:45am

My honey, and I, had every intention of making it to the intro class, but sleepiness, bad time estimates from yahoo maps, and unclear directions conspired against us. That’s ok though, since both of us have experience with the ‘ole navel staring thang. We wandered about a bit until they opened the hall, bowed our way in, found two cushions by each other, settled and bam! We were off and meditating. I am happy to report that we both made it through the 40 minute period with good results.

The lecture was awesome! Zoketsu Norman Fisher packed a full house, and the energy in the room was high. A passle of kids joined us. And, the ice was broken as Zoketsu got up onto his cushion in a stately manner and promptly fell over thrusting his bare feet skyward. He took it in stride and made a production of conquering the cushion that would make most professional clowns nod and take note. The kids loved it, and so did the crowd.

Zoketsu started his talk with an experiment. He walked the group through a series of focused attention on each of the five sense. When he got to taste his suggestion was to lick your own hand, and then he curiosly began tasting his own robe. More laughs from the kids. The experiment had the effect of entertaining and focusing everyone. He then invited the kids to go out into the garden and experiment with each of there sense. He did advise them to not try taste on the Hemlock.

After the kids filed out, Zoketsu continued his talk on the senses. He introduced the sixth sense recognized by what he termed “Buddhist Psychology”, thought/feeling. These sixth senses are termed Ayatana, “arising gates” (this was the translation Zoketsu gave.) He went on to explain that each of these six sense organs had corresponding objects without which they would be useless. Imagine trying to see a not-sight object such as a smell. Zoketsu introduced the idea that, in any given sensory phenomenon, each sense object was not only necessary to the corresponding sense organ being activated, but that this also meant that what we commonly aggregate to be one thing was in reality up to six different realities occurring in the same time-space. Take a tree for example. The sight of it, its sight object, cannot be apprehended by the ears. The sound of the wind blowing through its creaking limbs cannot be tasted. And, so on. Each of the components of the gestalt experience have an independent existence.

Zoketsu then completed the circuit by adding another iteration of six contributors to the totality of any sense experience. Each sense organ, with its corresponding sense object, has a sense consciousness. A specific vector for its inclusion in the mind. Note here that mind, in this use is not the same as thought/feeling sense organ, object or consciousness.

Thus you have a complex of 18 total “parts” which define our intake of sense datum. In this way it can be seen that all three elements (organ, object, consciousness) come together to co-create the world as it is for us in any given moment. And, to hark back to the meaning given of the term Ayananta, these gates are what the world arises through. In a very real way we are the participating authors of our worlds, moment to moment.

My mind was blown.

In that talk, and the subsequent question & answer session, I finally got clear on a sticking point in my own understanding. For me, the idea of co-creating, since creating is something I perceive as an active state verb, never quite made it through. I could see how I was being an active part, but what about the bench I was sitting on? Even as I was posing that very question a crack in my understanding appeared in the shape of realizing that the bench was in fact holding me up, and Zoketsu pried that crack wide open. The bench was only “passive” in a Western sense. It was in fact active in that it was actually being rather than not. He followed that with the idea of the magnitude of the things it could otherwise be, or not be altogether.

I talked earlier about my re-understanding Being as being a verb, and here was the perfect follow up. Things which appear passive are, in fact, perfectly active in fulfilling the roll of what they are, and through arising within the sense gates they co-create the word with me. Right decent of them if you ask me!

After the question and answer, my honey and me enjoyed an amazing vegan lunch with te best vegan corn bread I have ever had.  It’s made with tofu, go figure.  We hooked up with a group of four other total characters and hiked out to the beach, meandering this way and that, squabbling over who should catch up with whom and continuing the dharma talk in fine fashion.  We wrapped things up with buying a couple of zafu to replace the pillows for our home practice and, with wide smiles and tired bodies, started the calm drive home.

Stumble it!